Xsafe



H. GROSS; Y

SAFE.

(No Model.)

Patented NITED Srrns itarenfr .erica HENRY GROSS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 342,003, dated May 18, 1886.

Application tleil September 16, 1885. Serial No. 178,229. (No model.)

To all whom' it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY Gnoss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

In the manufacture of re-proof safes and vaults it is of the greatest importance that the door ofthe safe or vault shall fit its jamb so very closely that in case of iire the intense heat and dame cannot pass between the two and injure the contents of the safe or vault. For this reason it has been heretofore proposed to provide the jamb of a lire-proof safe with a groove of uniform shape extending around its face and adapted to receive a corresponding rib on the door.

In order to enable the` rib of the door to enter the groove of thejamb at the rear edge, it is necessary to connect the door to the jamb by a hinge of such character as would permit the door to swing until its rib was in front ol' the jainb-groove, and to be then forced inward by a pressurebar a slight distance in a straight line. In other words, the uniform arrangement of the jamb groove and the door-rib has heretofore been such as to render it necessary to connect the door to the jamb by a special construction of hinge that would permit a slight sliding movement inward, and to preclude the use of an ordinary swinging hinge fixed in the usual manner to the door and jamb. Y

My present invention has for its object, first, to provide means whereby a uniformly tight joint may be formed between the sides ofthe door and jamb of a safe, (ha-ving its door attached by means of the usual ixed swinging hinge and to this end my invention consists in providing the several sides of the door-frame and the corresponding parts of the jamb with a series of grooves and ribs arranged in such manner as to coincide and interlock when the door is closed, and yet to permit the door to be readily swung upon its hinges.

In order to secure a perfectly-tight joint between thejamb and the door when the lat! ter is closed, it is desirable, particularly if `of a portion ofthe safe and its door through one of the bolt-sockets. Fig. 8 is a perspective View ofthe pressure-bar detached. Fig.

4 is a perspective view of the retainingplate for the pressure-bar. Fig. 5 is a front view of a single door safe having the pressurebar thereon. Fig. 6 is a View in cross-section on line x n of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view, in cross-section, of the rear side or edge of the grooved doorplate and jambplate.

A designates the main body ofthe safe, and B B denote the doors, which are connected to the body by means of the fixed swinging hinges O, of usual construction.

In safes having two doors, as seen in Fig. I, the door B is provided with a frame or plate, B2, having upon its top, bottom, and

front sides a series of ribs, I), and grooves b,

like those shown in Fig. 2, and the top and bottom edges of the door-janib are provided with a plate, A, having corresponding ribs, a, and grooves a', as there seen. The plate ofthe door B has its top and bottom sides finished with ribs and grooves similar to the door B, while its front side is provided with ribs and grooves corresponding to the ribs and grooves a and a upon the jamb-plate, in order to receive the front side of the plate or frame of the door I3.

The rear side of the frame B2 of each of the doors B and B is provided with a series of ribs, b2, and grooves b, and the rear or hinge sides of the jamb-frame A are furnished with ribs cL and grooves ai, adapted to mesh with the corresponding ribs and grooves of the door plate or frame B2. As will be seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 6, the ribs and grooves ct and c of the jamb-frame extend in same plane as the wall in which they are formed, while the ribs and grooves b and t of the doorn IOS) frame extend in a pla-ne at right angles to the plane of the door.

In order to permit the door to be connected to the. safe by xedswinging hinges, I have found it necessary to provide a different arrangement of the grooves and ribs on the hinged sides of the door and jamb frames or plates. rIhe grooves and ribs of these frames are preferably formed as seen in Figsv and 7, those of the jamb-frame projecting in a plane at an angle to the plane ofthe side Wall of the safe and approximately at right angles to the plane ofthe joint between thejamb and door, while those of the door-frame extend in a plane approximating that ofthe door and approximately at right angles to the plane of the joint. By this arrangement I am enabled to connect the door to the safe-wall by fixed swinging hinges, and at the same time effecta very tight joint between all the sides of the door frame and jamb. It will 'be noticed that in the grooves of the jambframe a'packing of felt, (1*, is placed, against which the ribs of the door-frame will firmly bear.

My improved pressure-bar mechanism for tightly closing the safe-,doors will next be described.

Upon thejamb ofthe safe (or upon the door p B when two doors are employed) is screwed or riveted the retaining-plate D, the upper portion of which is recessed to'recei ve the end E of the pressure-bar, the body of this bar being bent, as at E, and provided with a handle, as at FF.

In the retaining-plate D is formed the hole d, through which and the hole e of the pressure-bar passes the screw F, that is embedded in the wal-1 of the safe, and serves as a journal .for the pressure-bar.

Near the edge of the door B is xed the cam-plate G, against which will bear the inner face of the portion E of the pressure-bar when the door is closed and this bar is forced downward.

The retaining-plate, constructed as shown, not only serves to securely hold the pressurebar, but also affords a firm bearing for the outer end of the screw F,and avoids all danger of this screwbecoming loosened by the operation of the bar.

When two doors are used for the safe, as

seen in Fig. l, the door B', or that which is first closed, has the pressure-bar attached thereto near its edge. In order to secure a tight joint between this door and the jamb, the ends h of the bolts H are beveled,as shown, upon their outer sides, so that when the door is closed and the bolts are thrust outward, by means of the turning-handle K and disk L, the inclined ends of these bolts will ride against the bolt holes or sockets in the jamb-plate and will tend to draw the door inward.

Instead of beveling the ends of bolts H, the sockets may be beveled, or both the bolt ends and the sockets may be beveled, as seen in Fig. 2.

The operating-handle K, by which the bolts ot' the door B are thrown, is placed upon the inner face of the door, so that but one set of lock mechanism need be employed for both doors.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and de sire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a safe, the combination of a frame or jarnb and a door connected thereto by xed hinges, said door and frame or jamb being provided on their top, bottom, and 'front faces or edges with ribs and grooves adapted to Vmesh, and being provided on their hinged faces or edges with ribs and grooves arranged at an angle to the plane of the ribs and groovesV on their front faces or edges, substantially as described.

2. In a safe, the pressure mechanism for the door, comprising a cam, G, a bent pressure-bar pivoted at one end and provided with a handle at the opposite end, a recessed retaining-plate, D, for said bar, and a journalpin for said bar, having one end held by the retaining-plate and the opposite end held in the wall of the safe, substantially as described.

' HENRY GROSS.

Witnesses:

GEO. P. FISHER, Jr., J AMES H. PEIRCE. 

